Banjo attachment.



W. B. FARMER. BANJO ATTACHMENT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10. I917.

1,260,1 7 1. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

WITNESSES Wzf 5 F INVENTOR v i 1 mm car/726i M Z0 A TTORNEYS WILLIAM B.FARMER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BANJO ATTACHMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

Application filed September 10, 1917. Serial No. 190,630.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM B. FARMER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in thecounty and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved BanjoAttachment, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

The invention relates to banjos such as shown and described in theLetters Patent of the United States, No. 833,517, granted to me onOctober 16, 1906.

The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improvedattachment for a banjo or similar musical instrument, arranged to enablea player'to produce an exceedingly sharp, clear, yet melodious tone.Another object is to permit the owner of a banjo to conveniently andreadily apply the attachment to the banjo without the aid of a skilledmechanic.

In order to produce the desired result, use is made of a resonance ringengaging the under side of the banjo, and adjustably supporting meansengaging the said ring to hold the latter in place independently of therim of the banjo, the said adjustable supporting means engaging theattaching member used for connecting the rim of the banjo with the neckthereof.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theviews.

Figure 1 is an inverted plan view of the attachment as applied to abanjo;

Fig. 2 is a cross section of the same on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 3 is an inverted plan view of a por tion of the resonance ring.

The banjo on which the attachment is shown applied is of usualconstruction and consists essentially of a membrane 10 held stretched ona rim 11 from which extends a neck 12 terminating in an attaching bar ordowel 13 extending diametrically of the rim 11, as plainly indicated inthe drawings. The usual strings 14 extend above the membrane 10 and areattached to the head (not shown) and tail piece 15 and extend over abridge 16 resting on the membrane, but as these parts are well known itis not deemed necessary to show or further describe the same.

The under side of the membrane 10 is engaged by a metallic resonancering 20 engaged at its under side by the points 21 of two screws 22screwing in the outer ends of a crossbar 23, preferably of metal, andengaging the upper face of the attaching bar 18. The points 21 of thescrews 22 preferably extend into countersinks 24 formed in the undersideof the resonance ring 20, as plainly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. It will benoticed that by the arrangement described the resonance ring 20 can bemoved into engagement with the membrance 10 with more or less force bycorrespondingly adjusting the screws 22 in the outer ends of the bar 23.Thus by the arrangement described the resonance ring 20 extends adistance from the rim 11 and is adjustably supported independently ofthe rim.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the attachment consists of theresonance ring 20, the screws 22 and the crossbar 28, and the severalparts can be readily placed in position in the banjo by the ownerthereof and without altering any part of the banjo or providing bracketattachments as shown and described in my previous patent.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. A banjo having a body provided with a rim, amembrane stretched over the rim, a dowel extending diametrically in thesaid rim, a resonance ring pressing against the under side of the saidmembrane and spaced from the said rim, a crossbar resting at its middleon top of the said dowel and extending at a right angle thereto, andscrews screwing in the ends of the said crossbar and engaging the underside of the said resonance ring on opposite sides of the said dowel.

2. A banjo having a body provided with a rim, a membrane stretched overthe rim, a dowel extending diametrically in the said rim, a resonancerin pressing against the under side of the said membrane a distance fromthe said rim, the said rin being provided at the under side and atiametrically opposite points with countersinks, a crossbar resting atits middle on the said dowel and extending at a right angle thereto, andscrews screwing in the ends of the said cross- 10 bar and having pointsengaging the said countersinks.

WILLIAM B. FARMER.

Copies of thin patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner 01 Intent: Washington, D. 0.

